Bridging+the+digital+divide

Adapted from:

Encyclopedia of Education. (2002). //The International Gap in Technology //. Retrieved February 26, 2012, from Opposing Viewpoints in Context: []

The developing countries face massive challenges in bridging the digital divide in education. What are these challenges? And is progress possible? In order to bridge the digital divide in education, developing countries will first need to overcome the key constraints to the development of ICT in general. Too often programs fail to address the problems in an effective way. This would involve the improvement of information infrastructure, and a reduction in Internet costs in developing countries, leading to a broadening of the information society there, and for more widespread and cost-effective use of new technologies to improve education.

Even with the best of intentions, however, achieving these goals will not be easy for developing countries. They lack both the money and the technical knowhow to overcome infrastructure and human resource limitations.

Many feel that advances in technology will help bridge the digital divide between industrial and developing countries. Overall, the spread of Internet access is expected to be rapid in the first decade of the twenty-first century. Indeed, access to information over the Internet is already being greatly increased around the world. The development of wireless telecommunications is also expected to facilitate access to the Internet in remote rural areas where telephone service has been unavailable. And, above all, computers are likely to become both pervasive and affordable, not just on the desk top and as handheld appliances, but embedded in intelligent objects everywhere.

While access to computers and telecommunications networks is necessary to bridge the digital divide, access alone is not sufficient to ensure that education systems in developing countries benefit from the Internet revolution. The governments of these countries also need to: (1) train teachers and trainers to exploit the potential of learning technologies; (2) offer free or inexpensive Internet access to schools; (3) foster capacity to develop content and instructional resources in their own language; (4) build networks and well-maintained facilities for both accessing knowledge and providing affordable lifelong learning and skill upgrading; and (5) preserve the freedom of teachers and students to explore the myriad educational resources on the web without filtering and censorship such as that which exists in China, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and other countries.

Both industrialized and developing countries must also seek to address the digital divide between rich and poor. The United States has made significant progress in bridging the gap, although there are still considerable problems, especially in instructional practice–that is, in how effectively modern learning technologies are being used with different groups of students. In the developing countries, public policies to promote competition (which lowers prices and improves quality) and to make new technologies more accessible will ultimately influence availability and adoption of technology and access. However, special community-based programs by governments and nongovernmental organizations involving marginalized or rural communities, women, and minorities are also essential for bridging the digital divide.

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